Contact: Sgt. Gregory  Rhodes, Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, phone: (302) 739-9913
or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, phone: (302) 739-9902

Police Agencies Seek Information in Truck Theft, Wildlife Area Vandalism Incidents

The New Castle County Police Department and Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Section are investigating the theft of heavy construction equipment and related vandalism of buildings on the Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area, located off Route 9, northeast of Smyrna.

On Feb. 1, New Castle County police took a report of a stolen vehicle from the Christiana Excavating Company in Newark. A 2004 JCB excavator/dump truck, valued at $180,000, was found missing from the company lot that morning.

On the morning of Feb. 2, Fish and Wildlife Agents responded to a report of damage to the Vogel House and its outbuildings on the Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area, apparently done by the missing truck. The truck was found imbedded in a storage shed, one of three structures damaged on the property. The shed was nearly demolished, as the truck had been rammed through its wooden swinging doors, tearing into its doorframe, ceiling and roof braces.

Fish and Wildlife Agents also reported the steel gate which separates the hunter parking lot from the Vogel House was damaged, evidently when the truck was driven onto the property. The truck was also apparently driven into rear porch supports on the house and the front of a one-room cedar shake schoolhouse on the property, opening a bay-window sized hole near the front door.

Agents reported damage to the vehicle’s fiberglass roof cap, left and right mirrors, right side fender molding, left side step ladder and windshield.

Patrols of the area have been stepped up, and both police agencies are seeking information on possible suspects. To report information, please contact Fish and Wildlife Enforcement at 302-739-4580 or New Castle County Police at 302-395-8171, or call Crimestoppers at 800-TIP-3333.

For further information, contact Sgt. Gregory Rhodes, Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, at 302-542-6102 or 302-739-9913, or Corp. Trinidad Navarro, New Castle County Police, 302-302-395-8005.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Photos available. Please contact Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.
 

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